


Fruitcake

by loveandwar007



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Cooking, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Light Angst, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Post-Calamity Ganon, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 11:59:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19131589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveandwar007/pseuds/loveandwar007
Summary: Zelda partakes in her favorite dish for the first time in a century.





	Fruitcake

Hateno was used to having its peaceful evenings disturbed, whether by monsters or the sudden appearance of the blood moon. That had been a more fearful time, before Link triumphed over the Great Calamity and saved the long struggling Princess Zelda. So now the only thing that seemed to be piercing the still night air was...Link himself.

With a final grunt, the former knight and champion stabbed his sword clean through the practice dummy’s head, giving it a hard twist for good measure. Once he began to see the dawn’s rays peeking over the cliffs, he knew his training time was up and breakfast needed to be started. He smiled to himself; well, perhaps not right away. Wrenching the Master Sword free, he kicked the straw dummy aside and sheathed the blade before heading inside the back door of his house. He mounted the legendary sword carefully before heading up the stairs to the loft, throwing his tunic off over his head as he went.

Zelda was still asleep, as he expected. Good. She hadn’t slept for a hundred years, meanwhile he had done nothing  _ but  _ sleep. Lowering himself onto the bed, barely able to comfortably house both of them, Link let out a contented sigh as he snuggled under the covers, snaking his hands around her waist. Her loud yelp followed not even a second later.

“Link, what in the  _ world?!”  _ the princess cried out, jerking away from him and sitting up to face his bewildered expression.

_ “What?”  _ he signed, his eyes widening. Had he overstepped his bounds? This was hardly the first time they had cuddled. In fact, Zelda had been the one to confess and kiss him first. Maybe it was another Ganon nightmare, leaving her afraid to be touched.

“Your hands are  _ freezing!” _

Well now Link just felt silly. Tucking his hands under his pillow, he rubbed them in a hasty attempt to warm his palms. Zelda, having gotten over being shocked awake, smiled over at him and softly chuckled. Normally she adored his touch. It was amazing how the same hands that sliced through countless enemies with an almost obsessive aggression could be so gentle, and leave her feeling so safe. 

Of course she had always felt safe with him, it had been his job after all. But now, with royalty and titles stripped away, now when she had to insist that he sign her name  _ ‘Zelda’ _ instead of  _ ‘Princess’, _ the fact that he was still here protecting her when he no longer had any official obligation to...that meant more to Zelda than Link would ever know.

Smiling teasingly into the pillow, she took his hand and tugged it back around her waist, cupping her hand around his cold face, his nose, cheeks and tips of his pointed ears still adorably red. And he smiled back, a true genuine smile she had almost never seen a century ago, a warmth that lit up his entire face and made his nearly glowing blue eyes sparkle. Drawing her close, he nuzzled into the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply before letting out a soft contented sigh. Zelda had dreamed for a long time that he would hold her like this. Dreams that had to be cast aside until Ganon had been dealt with and a future for them could be assured. Link had freed her in more ways than one. He had freed her to be herself, explore the wilds with him, live with him, and love him. 

By Hylia’s Grace, she loved him more than she had ever loved anyone or anything else. And in his own silent strength and courageous heart, he loved her as well.

 

* * *

 

After a morning of hunting without Zelda by his side, it had taken Link until early afternoon to carry all of the raw meat back to Hateno. He understood that she was out trying to reestablish their former alliances in hopes of Hyrule’s ultimate revival, but he had to admit that having her to assist in gathering food had been an advantage. She was quite good with a bow and arrow and light on her feet.

This time, however, he was glad she wasn’t home yet. He had a special surprise planned, now that he had been able to properly gather all of the ingredients. Firing up the cooking pot in the backyard, Link was about to make his way back into the kitchen when the distant whinny of a familiar white stallion caught his attention. Zelda was back already, which led him to the conclusion that she had not had much luck today. He was ready to lend an ear when she rode up to the house’s side loft and leapt off gracefully, tying her steed to the wooden pole before going to meet her knight.

“Teba wasn’t home, unfortunately,” she sighed as Link took her hand and kissed the back of it. “I asked around and it turns out he’s spending the day with his family.” Link noticed her eyes clouding over, and she cleared her throat, “I would so like to secure him as our ambassador to Rito in the New Hyrule.” Despite that, Link still knew her darkened expression had nothing to do with that. Rather, it was the word  _ ‘family’. _

_ “Come with me,”  _ he signed, taking her hand and pulling her into the kitchen. Her eyes did light up at that.

“Oh, are we cooking something special?” Zelda asked, watching Link open the cupboards and retrieve the ingredients. “Tabantha wheat...sugar cane -- oh a  _ dessert!  _ What a treat!” She nudged him playfully, “To what do we owe this occasion?”

Link dropped the ingredients on the counter so he could free his fingers to sign,  _ “Why do we need an occasion?”  _ Working together, they managed with flour to transform the wheat into a fine dough, which Link then rolled out flat against the surface.

“How long does this sugar boil?” Zelda asked anxiously, watching the bubbling pot on the stove. “Do I need to constantly watch it? Has it been two minutes yet? Will it--?”

A small laugh escaped Link as he stepped in beside her and removed the pot from the heat.  _ “It’s fine, it’s not that time sensitive. Now I’m going to need some fruit chopped up while I take this outside.” _

“Fruit, yes,” the princess repeated verbally in a businesslike tone. Within the cupboards, she managed to find plenty of apples, palm fruit, and even some wildberries from their last trek to Hebra. Taking up a knife, she diced the palm fruit first, then removed the cores from the apples when the realization hit her so hard that she nearly sliced her hand open.

Tabantha wheat...sugar cane...a fruit medley...she knew what Link was making. And it filled her with such a variety of emotions that she nearly became overwhelmed, pushing them aside so she could finish the task at hand. Dumping the diced fruit into a bowl, she brought it out to Link, who was hovered over the sugar cane boiling within the wheat crust. Gently, he tipped her bowl of fruit into the pot so it wouldn’t splash everywhere, using a wooden spoon to spread it evenly around the crust.

_ “Have you figured it out yet?” _ he signed once they sat down to wait for the dessert to bake.

“I have.” Zelda beamed, pressing her hands to her heart. “Fruitcake. You remembered that was my favorite.” Link nodded with a proud grin, making her heart soar. “Oh Link, I haven’t had fruitcake since--”

She faltered, her voice catching in her throat. The banquet hall at Hyrule Castle, in all its century-ago splendor swam before her vision, her father lifting his goblet in a toast for various celebrations and balls. The scene dissolved, and in its place were the ruins of that same room she and Link had walked through solemnly, allowing themselves to properly grieve once the war was over.

_ Stop it, Zelda,  _ she scolded herself as tears pricked her eyes. She was done crying, she  _ had _ to be done crying. She couldn’t keep falling apart like this if she intended to become New Hyrule’s queen. But the fruitcake, and Link’s touching gesture...it was almost too much for her to bear.

Link had instantly swooped to her side, kneeling before her and reaching up to hold her face in his hands. “I’m fine,” Zelda insisted in an unconvincing wavering tone, but Link understood this more than anyone ever possibly could. Memories were still returning to him in flashes to this day, and some of them were so heavy they rendered him completely unresponsive, and he would turn from her or leave the room to hide his tears.

It was impossible for Zelda to hide hers as Link kept her rooted to the spot, wiping her cheeks with his thumbs as silent drops began to roll down. “I’m sorry, I just...oh I feel so childish getting worked up over a cake.”

_ “It’s alright, Zelda,”  _ his lips formed with no sound. He knew he should have been the one apologizing, for not realizing that this dish he had made with every good intention would bring back a past that had been so forcibly and painfully ripped from her. That had been ripped from  _ them. _

Once the first sob escaped her, Link slid into her seat and pulled her against him, letting her cling to his back and bury her face in his shoulder. He shushed her gently and kissed her hair for as long as his mourning princess needed, not even caring if the cake burned at this point. It was stupid to make it in the first place. Zelda had already suffered through so much, and the fact that he had added to that pain cut him deeper than the sword of a lynel.

When she pulled away, her face was completely blotched red, wiping at her puffy eyes as she stared embarrassedly at the large wet splotch she had left on Link’s blue tunic. “I’ll wash it,” she apologized weakly, and Link shook his head, telling her not to worry about it. “Thank you, my love.”

_ “I’m always here for you,”  _ Link signed in earnest.

“Well, that too. But I meant thank you for the fruitcake.”

Link blinked in confusion.

“It is still my favorite. And I don’t want to look back on it with sorrow anymore. Nor anything from our lives.” She leaned against his chest again, listening to his heartbeat and feeling his breath blowing against the top of her head. “We’ve already lost too much, Link. We can’t lose our happiness as well.”

Zelda had lost her father. Link had lost his. They were both orphans thrust into the wild that, while invigorated and inspired them both, also left them terrified, helpless and completely alone. Well, thank the Goddess, not completely. They had each other.

Snaking her arms around his neck, Zelda pulled Link’s head down to her level, his lips moving first to meet hers in a deep kiss. As a princess, she had never been allowed to be weak, or have weaknesses at all. Nor had he been able to as a knight. This new vulnerability that they were able to display to each other was refreshing and warm, as if an invisible shield had been erected around them the moment their lips touched.

Once they were forced to come up for air, Link fisted his hands and crossed them over his heart. Zelda let out a sigh of understanding, “I love you, too. So much.” Her eyes drifted over to the simmering pot on the fire, the smell surrounding her like a comforting embrace. “Do you think its ready?”

Link stood and went to stand over the pot, humming that sweet little hum he always uttered while cooking. He nodded over to her eagerly, dousing the fire as she stood to get plates and forks for the two of them, handing him his before helping herself to his confection. 

It looked even better than she remembered it, and while the aroma reminded her of the now destroyed banquet hall, she was also reminded of a knight who used to smile at her from across the table. That same knight who bit into the cake hungrily before glancing over at her for her approval. And at last, knowing that she would never truly lose everything as long as he was here to make new memories with her, Zelda took a bite.

“Link...it’s  _ perfect.” _

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are great, but comments are better :)


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